You want a judge who makes objective decisions, and that's why temperament is such an important component of being a judge. You have to earn people's respect, because they know that you are deciding the case based on the facts and the law, not because they're trying to be your friend.

I have tried to make sure I knew the law and what the most recent changes were, and I've applied the law to the facts. I have not lost sleep over the decisions I have made.

You really don't want to go to court and have the judge decide based on whether or not they're your friend, because you don't want to be thinking that the (judge's) friend is on the other side (of the court case).

By definition, half the people leaving the courtroom are unhappy. Any good judge can make more than half the people unhappy. The job is not to make people like you or make people think you're their friend.

You have to be patient. Litigants are emotionally involved - they're suing or being sued, or they've been in an accident or they're charged (with a crime). They are not very objective about their situation.

You want a judge who makes objective decisions, and that's why temperament is such an important component of being a judge. You have to earn people's respect, because they know that you are deciding the case based on the facts and the law, not because they're trying to be your friend.

As you get older, you tend to be a little less patient with people - people who are not prepared, people who have unrealistic expectations, people who make unrealistic demands, people who think they're more special than other people.